Yes. Thank you. That exactly. There are ways of going about this that don't include gratuitous insult and disrespect.

It may be just me, but I firmly believe that Carl's death had a lot to do with the ugly divisiveness that's cropped up in the last ten years between the two factions. He was an affable buffer between science and religion, promoting his views with enthusiasm but without rancor (well, most of the time), and with sympathy for why people wanted to believe in religion, even though he couldn't agree with the dogma. When he went, with him went that willingness to keep the discourse civil. Just as hardly anybody hears about the wonderful discoveries that keep coming about Mars without his engaging voice to capture their attention, the idea of respectful discussion in this arena no longer has a widely known and beloved voice to champion it.

To those who, over the years, questioned whether Carl ever did any good, or what he ever achieved that was of "real value", that was it - he turned people to science without turning them off. I'd be hard put to express just how incredibly valuable he was just in that area alone, regardless of his other achievements. He makes me wish reincarnation were true, because we sure do need him to return.

The door's right over there. Don't let it hit you on the way out.

It's a good thing not all us feminists are such unmitigated bitches. Tell me, do you sneer quite so intensely at all the WOMEN out there with the same basic problem? Or were you unaware that there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of women who lose interest in ordinary men because of the media onslaught of guys like Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and the latest dish-de-jour, Aaron Eckhart (called "Sexhart" by his bunny fans)? Believe it, they're out there. The internet is full of them. Are they as pathetic and sad as you so condescendingly consider these men to be?

Whatever happened to feminism being about treating people equally? About being concerned for both sexes? Or is that just bending over too far backwards for you?

Damn. Every single time I read one of these bitchy, holier-than-thou screeds, I get another inch closer to dropping the name of feminist like a freaking hot potato. THANK YOU, Kate, for another nail in the coffin. DEAR.

of MSM assholes making a huge deal out of something that is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.

What exactly did Edwards do that merited public intrusion? Did he raid public coffers? Did he coerce sexual favors out of an unwilling participant? Did he take advantage of his office in any way? Did he break any laws? NO?? Then Salon is guilty of the same tabloid-mentality BULLSHIT as the rest of the prurient, busybody media.

All you people have accomplished is the tarring of a pretty good public servant for no discernible reason other than your estimation of the public's interest, which is this: you think we're all a bunch of slavering, judgmental assholes JUST LIKE YOU. Thanks very much for your vote of confidence.

Assholes.

for anyone who isn't in on the conversation. Like others have said, I don't think the talkers have the slightest idea how rude and inane they sound to those around them. Even if I owned one of those evil devices, I would never use it in a situation where others were forced to listen to my private conversation. But I have come up with a solution that basically takes karmic vengeance on the annoying twit babbling away next to me, and I'm pretty sure it would work in this situation too. (Might work even better, in fact.)

Being a habitual reader, I always have a book or magazine in my purse or bag. These days, if I find myself trapped by one of these self-centered yakkers (say, in a line at the post office or such), I simply pull out my book, turn to face him/her and start reading out loud, matching the volume of the caller. I keep doing that until the call ends. Usually, the person in question will snap at me, something along the lines of "Do you mind? I'm trying to talk here!" To which I cheerfully answer, "Do you mind? I'm trying to read here!"

Most times, I get my point across.

I agree. And those who are touting this as a cure for "airline rage" clearly don't realize that it could cause exactly that reaction - on the part of those who can't stand listening to cellphone conversations!

The bottom line is, treating the people around you as if they don't exist, and as if your momentary whim is vastly more important than common courtesy, is simply rude and uncivilized. If people are going to behave like cavemen or three-year-olds, fine. But they can't complain when others hate them for it.

I really don't understand the whole hybrid thing, especially when it's touted as a "cure" for our energy woes. GM certainly has no call to go preening about producing a hybrid when it tanked the EV1, the first available electric car, off the roads with no excuse. They're still claiming it was a "public relations disaster", which is and always has been utter bullshit. I was working at a Saturn dealership when the EV1 was available, and we couldn't keep those things in the showroom. When GM announced it was pulling them, we had people offering us up to $100K to let them keep their cool electric cars, but no dice. (The fact that they were available only on lease made me suspicious from the get-go, actually.)

So all this ya-ya about the Volt? Nope, I'm not swallowing it, sorry. GM were ten years ahead of the pack and chose not to pursue this market; I'm certainly not going to believe their hype now.